Anderson leads the Lakers' running game

Gerald Anderson is the main man in the backfield for the Mercyhurst College football team. Mercyhurst College photo.

Gaining only 15 yards on 13 carries in a tightly-contested PSAC Western Division showdown would’ve left most top-tier running backs complaining and pouting as they sat at their lockers.

Not Gerald Anderson.

The Mercyhurst College senior tailback, who is ranked ninth all-time in career rushing yards at the school, took the fact that he was held under 100 yards for the first time this year in stride.

“They stacked the box against the run, but we didn’t run the ball that much,” Anderson noted. “I’m not the bit upset because we got the win. Our quarterback, wide receivers and O-line did the job for us.”

The former Northern High School standout was referring to the Lakers’ 28-27 road victory over Indiana (Pa.) last week. Making his first start, junior quarterback Travis Rearick completed 32 of 53 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns. Rearick fired a 28-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Kennedy with 26 seconds remaining in the game to lift Mercyhurst (4-2, 2-1). The victory catapulted the Lakers into a three-way tie for second place in the division.

“Travis put up some big numbers, and I was happy for him because he has been kind of behind the scenes in his career,” Anderson said. “It was huge win for us ... we came in and stepped up which gave us a lot of confidence.”

Rearick replaced injured starter Garrett Kensy (ankle) and turned in a career game. Getting back to Anderson, the 5-9, 205-pound slasher worked his way into one of the most reliable running backs in the PSAC. He currently leads the Lakers in rushing with 720 yards (5.4 average) and four touchdowns on 127 carries. For his career, Anderson has amassed 1,282 yards and 10 scores on 270 totes.

At Northern, Anderson has a second-team all-state performer, the second all-time leading rusher (1,500 yards) and the all-time touchdown leader (25). Despite the gaudy numbers, many Division I schools backed off because of his size and subpar grades.
“Schools shied away from me and that put a chip on my shoulder,” recalled Anderson, a business management major.
“Mercyhurst was the only school to give me an opportunity. It’s a beautiful small campus, and even though I first wanted to play at a big school, having only 24 to 25 people in a class really helped my academics.”
It was a learning experience as a freshman as he found out he didn’t know all about what it took to be a top-flight college running back. To his credit, Anderson watched the learn about the college game from Mercyhurst’s all-time leading rusher Richard Stokes. He also did the little things that helped him become the back he is today.
“It was a humbling experience, to say the least. I found out that I didn’t know where the blocking schemes were because in high school I used my speed and just ran,” Anderson said. “I had to watch film and become a student of the game. In college you just can’t get by on speed because the players on defense are just as fast.”

Anderson was very happy when Mercyhurst joined the PSAC his sophomore year after playing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The Lakers made an immediate impact by coming one game short from clinching the Western Division title.

“Man, I don’t miss those 16-hour bus rides to Michigan and Ohio,” Anderson said. “Moving to the PSAC was so much better. I found out that there were many local athletes playing in the conference, athletes I played against in high school.”

In his junior season, Anderson ranked second on the Lakers with 110 carries for 507 yards and a team-high tying five touchdowns. He ran for a career-high 175 yards and two scores on 25 carries against Erie city rival Gannon.

This year he is one of the team leaders on a squad that is right in the thick of PSAC West race.

“He’s has become our guy in the backfield,” Lakers coach Marty Schaetzle said. “He has done a great job for us since he has been here, and it’s all coming together for him this season.”

Related Stories

Featured Story

Get 'Today's Front Page' in your inbox

This newsletter is sent every morning at 6 a.m. and includes the morning's top stories, a full list of obituaries, links to comics and puzzles and the most recent news, sports and entertainment headlines.

optionalCheck here if you do not want to receive additional email offers and information.See our privacy policy

Thank you for signing up for 'Today's Front Page'

To view and subscribe to any of our other newsletters, please click here.